Anthony J. Stiff, "Keeping the Feast: The Socializing Dynamics of the Eucharist, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, and Enabling Boundaries for Individuals with Disabilities#," Journal of Disability & Religion (2021), DOI: 10.1080/23312521.2021.1981793
IntroductionMy works cited
From the Apostolic period to the present day, followers of Christ have wrestled with faithfully practicing the Eucharist meal. Paul’s discussion in I Corinthians 11:17-34 of the conflicting social dynamics within the church in Corinth illustrates this point. The first half of this article will explore how the sacrifice of Christ, remembered by the church in the Eucharist feast, creates a socializing dynamic that expands communal margins allowing the church to live as a more inclusive, hospitable community that embraces diversity (Kim, 2014, pp. 23–32). This communal expansion was needed in Corinth, as Gerd Theissen argued. Theissen documented the ways the social and economic stratifications of the Hellenistic city of Corinth challenged how the body of Christ participated in the Eucharist (Theissen, 1982, pp. 69–174). With Theissen, this article claims that the Eucharist as a cruciform meal re-socialized the Corinthian body, pushing against rather than reinforcing the social fragmentation and marginalization brought about by the honor and shame culture of the Ancient Mediterranean world (Theissen, 1982, pp. 145–174). The Eucharist offered the church in Corinth a way to enable a new set of social boundaries by giving the community a cruciform location for its identity recognition. With Christ as Host, all who come through him are welcome at the feast as guests of honor. The power dynamics of old exclusionary social barriers were moved by a new center, enabling access without the social or economic stigma attached to an individual’s value.
Yung Suk Kim, Christ's Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (Fortress, 2008).
-------, "Reclaiming Christ’s body (soma christou): Embodiment of God’s Gospel in Paul’s Letters," Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 67.1: 20–29.